Industry and transport are the principal sources of air pollution in the region.
Stationary sources of air pollution, aggregate - 2017–2019 - kt
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
42 400 | 42 500 | 41 500 | 48 200 | 41 200 |
Pollutant emissions from stationary sources - 2017–2019 - kt
2018 | 2019 |
48,2 | 41,2 |
Motor vehicles also contribute to atmospheric air pollution.
Pollutant emissions from vehicles - 2018-2019 - kt
2018 | 2019 |
3,5 | 3,1 |
Number of vehicles - 2018–2019
Types of vehicles | 2018 | 2019 |
Cars | 112 179 | 23 616 |
Trucks / Lorries | 13 204 | 1 821 |
Buses | 4 001 | 483 |
Caravans | 9 360 | 1 111 |
Motorcycles | 1 151 | 92 |
TOTAL | 139 895 | 27 123 |
Air quality monitoring in the region is carried out at six automatic observation posts, levels of concentration of suspended substances in the air is within allowable guidelines. No cases of elevated or extremely elevated pollution have been recorded. Air measurements taken in the largest oblast cities - Uralsk and Aksai – reveal low levels of pollution.
15 billion Tenge were allocated from the state budget for the gasification of the Oblast between 2014-2019.
Oblast population access to gas supply, by percentage - 2014–2019
Year | Urban population | Rural population |
2014 | 91,2 | 82,6 |
2015 | 92 | 83,9 |
2016 | 93,4 | 86,6 |
2017 | 94 | 87,7 |
2018 | 95,4 | 91 |
2019 | 100 | 92 |
There are about 200 rivers and streams with a total length of 4600 kilometers in the oblast. The largest rivers are the Zhaiyk, Shagan, Derkul, Kushum, Big and Small Uzen. There are 144 lakes in the oblast, of which 94 are saltwater; the largest lakes are Shalkar, Ribny Sakryl and the Kamysh- Samar Lake system.
Oblast water quality monitoring was carried out at nine bodies of water: the Zhaiyk, Shagan, Derkol, Yelek, Shyngyrlau, Saryozen, and Karaozen rivers; Koshim Canal and Lake Shalkar.
Water quality – Surface bodies of Water in the Oblast - 2019
Class | Body of Water |
3 | Derkol River |
4 | Shagan, Zhaiyk, and Saryozen rivers; Koshim Canal |
>5 (not standardized) | Yelek, Shyngyrlau, and Karaozen, rivers; Shalkar Lake |
Domestic wastewater discharge in 2017–2019
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Volume – wastewater discharge – 1000 m3 | 8 585,9 | 7 311,1 | 8 213,7 |
Volume – pollutant discharge - kt | 3,4 | 3,2 | 2,5 |
In 2019, nine cases of elevated water pollution were recorded.
Incidents of elevated pollution of oblast surface water resources - 2017-2019
Rivers | Quantity |
Zhaiyk and Shangyrlau rivers, Koshim Canal | 1 |
Shalkar Lake, Derkol River, Karaozen River | 2 |
Discharge of pollutants by enterprises - 2017–2019
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Volume – wastewater discharge – 1000 m3 | 2 965,7 | 3 039,2 | 2 959,6 |
Volume – pollutant discharge - kt | 34,2 | 42,6 | 42,4 |
In 2018, as a result of the "Organization and conduct of prospecting and exploration for groundwater for household and drinking water supply to settlements" program, 39 villages of the region were provided with drinking water.
The total oblast land area in 2019 amounted to 7,039,900 thousand hectares.
Distribution of land by category - 2017–2019 - thousands of hectares
Category | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
Agricultural land | 6 607 | 6 907,3 | 7 039,9 |
Residential land | 2 323,6 | 2 323,3 | 2 323,3 |
Land zoned for industrial, transport, communications, defense, and other non-agricultural purposes | 40,1 | 40,2 | 41,6 |
Protected nature preserves | 12,4 | 12,4 | 12,4 |
Undesignated Reserve area | 4 394,2 | 4 094,1 | 3 954,6 |
46 mining operations were active on oblast land in 2018; in 2019 – 55.
Distribution of agricultural land by category - 2017-2019 - thousands of hectares
Category | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
Arable land | 588,7 | 605,3 | 541,8 |
Permanent crops | 1,8 | 2,0 | 2,0 |
Fallow land | 438,8 | 457,8 | 462,4 |
Hayfields | 411,2 | 440,5 | 450,0 |
Pasture | 5 111,7 | 5 345,2 | 5 527,2 |
Monitoring data reveals 194,000 hectares of oblast land polluted by oil spills amounting to a total weight of more than 5M tons.
The oblast has more than 200 bodies of water of which 86 are active fisheries. Protected oblast fisheries amount to more than 51,000 hectares.
Distribution of surface water lands - 2017–2018 - thousands of hectares
Category | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
Surface water land | 76 | 76 | 81,5 |
Designated oblast hunting grounds amount to 12.4 million hectares. There are 41 hunting reserves in the region encompassing a total area of more than four million hectares.
Oblast forestland amounts to 216,900 hectares.
Distribution of forestland - 2017–2019 - thousands of hectares.
Category | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
Forestlands | 216,9 | 216,9 | 216,9 |
Radiation levels taken at the two meteorological stations and three automatic observation posts in the cities of Uralsk and Aksai showed that the average values of gamma background and gamma emissions in 2018 and 2019 were within normal limits.
In the oblast, 17 enterprises employ a total of 157 sources of ionizing radiation producing an aggregate of more than 74 thousand GBq.
The oblast has 206 landfills and two landfills for household waste. The total area of land occupied for waste storage is 550 hectares. The total amount of accumulated household waste in the region in 2019 amounted to more than six million tons.
The largest amount of industrial waste was generated by the oil and gas industry - 59.4 thousand tons.
Sorted collection of household waste is gradually being introduced in the oblast. In regional and district centers, cardboard, paper, plastic, tire recycling centers have been organized. From 2015 to 2018, 1,084 containers for separate garbage collection were installed in the region. For the collection of mercury-containing lamps, batteries and devices, 54 special containers have been installed.
In 2019, a waste sorting conveyer with a capacity of 100,000 tons annually was launched at the MSW landfill in Uralsk.
There are 16 enterprises in the region engaged in the reception and processing of paper waste, polyethylene and plastic waste, automobile waste, and mercury-containing lamps and appliances.
Percentage of household waste recycling generated in the oblast - 2017-2019.
Year | % |
2017 | 2,2 |
2018 | 5,3 |
2019 | 8,6 |
Design and cost estimate documentation has been developed for the construction of landfills in the Chapayevo Akzhaik district and in the village of Kaztalovka in the Kaztalovka district. A feasibility study has been developed for the construction of new household waste landfills in Uralsk and Aksai. To provide residential areas with appropriate locations for the deposit of household waste, the "Construction of a solid waste landfill in the Zhalpaktal settlement of the Kaztalovsky district of the West Kazakhstan region" project was developed
In 2018, 308 solar generators were installed at 79 oblast farms.
Sewage treatment facilities in the cities of Uralsk and Aksai have deteriorated completely. To improve wastewater treatment efficiency in the area, a mechanical treatment system was constructed in 2012. In 2014, Batys Su Arnasy, LLP put together the design and cost estimate for the “Reconstruction of the discharge station" project, but further development is still needed. Planning is required for the construction of a biological treatment plant. Work is ongoing.
Low water levels in the Zhaiyk River and its tributaries - the Chagan, Derkul and Kushum - have resulted in heavy silting and water levels insufficient to service the local population. More than 80% of the population of the region lives in these river basins. In an effort to address the issue, the "Reconstruction of the Kirovo- Chizhinsky Canal for the inter-basin transfer of water from the Zhaiyk-Koshim system to the Bolshoy Uzen River" project was implemented in 2011. Within the project framework, 30 kilometers or the canal were reconstructed in 2018 and an additional, new 18-kilometer canal was constructed. In 2019, work was completed on water protection zones for the river; the Kushum River bank was enforced; and the Clean Banks environmental campaign was conducted.